Remote Desktop Repair

[mooreted2000]

I turned a friend of mine onto PC-BSD and he loves it, but he does a lot of remote support using TeamViewer. We have not been able to get it to connect and show a desktop remotely running it from Wine.

VNC is not a good solution because trying to explain to a 65 year old guy how to setup a VNC server on his computer and connect to a dynamic DNS site and connect is just too much.

Is there some simple way to do remote desktop on PC-BSD?

Remember, the guy at the other end of the connection can barely turn a computer on.

[Cobalt]

My brothers are computer technicians and they use a program which is based on TightVNC, I believe. I'll ask them about it tomorrow. Your friend will be able to use the TightVNC viewer with it.

You mean a small file that your friend can send to people and connect to their computers once the application has been launched, right?

[no2pencil]

Tight VNC would still require an installation from the client.

The problem with anything 'remote' is that it requires execution in the clients browser. This is how TeamViewer & LogMeIn123 are able to auto-port forward over a clients router. Because of this, the software must execute, & that generally means running ActiveX in IE.

I don't believe there is an easy solution to the question.

[Cobalt]

No, the program that my brothers use is ridiculously simple. No setup needed and they send it to clients who can barely run their computers. The clients run the executable file and then you can access their desktop with a viewer.

[Ole Juul]

Since the person on the other end "can barely turn a computer on", I'm guessing they are not running BSD. Nor are they going to be interacting with this "remote repair". Could SSH not do the trick? That's how I'm always logged into my wife's computer and I do most of the admin from there. It seems to me that a remote desktop would just make the job slower and harder.

[mooreted2000]

The way TeamViewer, LogMein and GoToMyPc work is the company that provides the software does the referring so you just tell the client to download a small file and execute it.

For some reason TeamViewer under Wine doesn't want to work. TeamViewer under Ubuntu works fine, but Sam (my friend) is really liking PC-BSD and wants to switch.

SSH would work if he could go to the customer's house and set it up first, but the service call is usually started from a phone call rather than a site visit.

@Cobalt: Whatever your brothers are using, please hook me up.

Thanks everyone, appreciate it.

[Cobalt]

Sorry, I guess the program that I mentioned is no longer around. It was actually programmed for their company and it used TightVNC as a backend. It would have worked, it just has their company's logo branded on it. My bros. said that if they found an alternative, they'd let me know.

[Cobalt]

Has your friend tried earlier versions of TeamViewer to see if they work in Wine?

[mooreted2000]

Oh well, thanks for trying. I'll do some experiments with him and see what he can use. Maybe VNC won't be too bad after all.

[mooreted2000]

We tried 6 with it's built-in Wine. We didn't just try 6; that might be a good idea though.

What happens is: TV connects and the chat box pops up, but no image is displayed on the screen.

I'll give 6 a try and see what happens.